Shifting Teeth?

I have recently been diagnosed with Sleep Apnea and have been using a BPAP machine with a chin strap for about a month. My mask has the gel around the nose. I have to strap the mask down very tight in order to get a good seal and am very concerned my teeth are shifting becuase I have to strap the mask so tight. In the morning my front teeth hurt. The DME nurse said it was because I had the chin strip pulled too tight. I loosened it as much as I could and that did help some. But I feel sure my teeth are shifting and suspect it's because I have to strap the mssk on so tight. Has anyone out there exxperienced the same problem or heard of anyone who has?

Thanks,
Teanite

Hi Texanite,

It sure is a good thing you've found your way to this message board, because the DME nurse sure isn't giving you much useful help. (Not that I will, either! lol)

If the chin strap was given to you to keep treatment air leaks from coming out through your mouth (or to prevent you from mouth breathing) I'd ditch that little torture device they call a "chin strap". If you are more comfortable mouth breathing, get a ResMed Ultra Mirage FF mask (full face mask - covers just your mouth and nose, not your entire face.) With a full face mask you can get the treatment air through your nose or your mouth - mouth breathing easily whenever you wish.

Even if you don't want a FF mask, I'd still get rid of the gel mask and get a different nasal mask. If you like to sleep on your side, the Breeze with nasal pillows is excellent. The clueless DME nurse might try to fit you with the wrong size nasal pillows, however; so, whatever size "pillows" she says "fit" you, insist on the next size up. Nasal pillows fit more comfortably if they are not crammed into the nose, but can sit more to the outside of the nostrils, and they'll seal even better on the outside than up in the nose. The Breeze is wonderful for people who want to sleep on their sides. If you prefer sleeping on your back, get the Swift (also a nasal pillows interface, but comes with all three sizes included...don't let the DME withhold two of the sizes from you - tell them you know the Swift is sold with all three sizes included and insist they give you all three.)

If you want to stick with a traditional nasal (covers the nose) mask, try the Activa by ResMed. It's the cadillac of masks and is worn with the straps amazingly loose. It has such a clever comfortable cushion design that it actually seals best with the straps almost floppy. You'd certainly never have to crank an Activa down with tight straps the way you're having to do that gel thing.

I use a Breeze with nasal pillows and occasionally switch to the Activa for a change. I tape my lips closed to prevent air leaks from my mouth when using either of those. On nights when I prefer to just let my mouth hang open for easy mouth breathing, I use the ResMed Ultra Mirage FF.

If you don't already have one, also get a heated humidifier. That can make the treatment much more comfortable, with any kind of mask. Good luck!

Wow, Rested Gal! Sounds like you have had LOTS of experience with all this. What kind of tape do you use to tape your mouth shut? I am going to print your recommendeations out and spend some time studying it. I really appreciate all the information.

Regards,
Texanite

I've slept with the Swift on my side ( 90%), face down and back. have no problem with leaking in any position. Pillows stay in place much better than with the Breeze. With the Breeze I was constantly adjusting the pillows and the headgear. And with the Swift, I don't even have to have the head straps snug, they can be quite loose.

Janelle:
You sleep face down with the Swift? It does not get knocked off or out of position? You are some lucky!

Janelle,
I love my Swift system, but I can't imagine how you sleep with your face down and maintain the pillows in the right position. I have the connecting tubing hooked on my left since I prefer going to sleep on my right side, but in the early morning hours I usually try to switch to my left side and even at that I have to awaken until I can get everything adjusted again. Since I love the pillow system I just ordered the Breeze system since I have read so many posts here that the Breeze is a more preferable setup for side sleepers. I shall soon see, I guess.
Thanks for giving me something to think about as I am still trying to develop a picture in my mind of how you can sleep on your tummy with the pillows. Do you have a special pillow with a hole in the middle for the system to fit into? Thanks again for sharing!
Wishing all good dreams and restful sleep!!!

Texanite...I just read the reply you got from Rested Gal and it sounded like she gave you very good advice.
I have been using the New Breeze Nasal pillows for about 4 months now. The longer I use it the more problems I am having with it leaking. Also if you move at all during the night you will probaly loose your seal on the New Breeze. If you try sleeping on your back....well forget that!!! The New Breeze is not hair frienly at all, so I wear a bandana on my head to help with the morning hair from the NB.

Rested Gal...I just ordered the Mirage Activa mask to get away from the New Breeze. I was glad to hear it is a good mask. I almost ordered a chin strap also but after reading your reply to Texanite I am glad I did not waste my money. Thanks for all of the good advice.

Cool, Janelle...the Swift suits a lot of people. It's nice to have choices among "nasal pillows" interfaces.

The Breeze never gets dislodged on me. Probably because I use the side straps down much farther than the lowest position they can be "slid to" on the front of the hose guide. I don't even use that hose guide clip. I took it off and just fasten the side straps to themselves across the hose in front, down as low to the pillows shell as they can be without covering the exhaust hole. Doesn't even have to be tight - just steadies it perfectly. That, and hanging the main hose overhead...I can turn from side to side with ease.

The most aggravating problem I had with the Swift, compared to the Breeze, is the wider "diffused" exhaust on the Swift. Sleeping on my side with the Swift, I could hardly ever aim for a spot that didn't cause some part of the Swift's much wider exhaust to hit my arm or the extra pillow I like to drape my arm over or the cover that I like to snuggle down under, etc. Exhaust air hitting stuff caused more noise, adding to the already constant noise from the Swift. I've had two Swifts - found both to be too noisy for me. Breeze suits me better, even though it too has some sound each time a person inhales, but I'm glad the Swift does so well for you. Those certainly are the two best "nasal pillows" interfaces, imho.

Texanite, I use a couple of strips of Johnson & Johnson waterproof adhesive tape - the 2" wide roll. I fold each end of each strip down on itself to make a handy "grab-tab" for removal. I'm not a doctor, so use your own judgement as to whether it's a good idea to tape your mouth or not.

by the way I forgot to mention that since I have been using the New Breeze it has been shifting my teeth and some of them or becoming sensitive when I chew with them.

any one else having this problem??

JW, I've read people reporting that happening - with different types of masks. Any mask that makes contact with the area between upper lip and bottom of the nostrils (which means just about any mask other than a full face mask) will exert a certain amount of pressure on that area - a little or a lot or anything in between. The roots of the upper teeth are under there. Fortunately for me the Breeze hardly touches there at all. Everyone's face is different, though, and we all seem to be on a constant quest for "just the right mask". I think you'll like the Activa, but it's going to rest there too.

I had to adjust my shell at an angle such that if the pillow sealed at all, the bottom part of the shell pushed heavily against my upper lip. Another thing I hated.
What rested gal forgot is that she has made a number of alterations to her Breeze, and it is not out of the package. I had to wrap tape around the hose to keep it from popping out of the clip all the time, too and then taped it further back to keep it at a more convenient angle

As far as the Swift, I find it to be much QUIETER than the Breeze, much softer inhale sound. You have to rotate the "cuff" backwards and forwards to get the sound to go away, but it does for me anyway.

As far as stomach sleeping, my head is to the side. I was sleeping on an extra firm pillow until it "hollowed" out. I had one of those Therapeutic foam back support pillows you get at Walmart and stuck that in the hollow. I find it supports my head very well and I can "hang off" the edge of it with the mask. It only raises about an inch once it compresses but that is enough. I tried one of the neck U-shaped pillows that I think it was Muck uses and it was too high and I couldn't get used to the mask being in the U so I went back to my back pillow.

I wish Swift had a vent guide that you could adjust to make it vent higher up or lower down. Both the Swift and the Breeze vent right in my husband's face if I am facing him in bed. For this reason I seriously considered the new SNAPP mask since it vents down but I read some undesireable things about it and decided on the Swift instead.

I must be one the lucky ones with Swift! I sleep great on my side or back with no problems when I'm using the Swift. Leaking has not been a problem.
(Now, I will add that I use the papillow and I believe its design helps too!)

Actually, the number of alterations I made to the Breeze itself was just one.... and it really wasn't an alteration as much as it was an adjustment - fastening the side straps farther down close to the shell instead of at the bottom of the hose guide track. That was all. I'm using it exactly as it comes out of the box (lavender colored box, btw, for the "improved" Breeze - not to be confused with the old Breeze that had a blue box.) I'm simply wearing the straps (that come with it) down considerably lower than the instructions show.

The hanger I put on my wall is to keep the main hose up out of the way while wearing any of my masks, not just the Breeze. I hang the main hose up there when I wear the Swift, the Activa, the Mirage Ultra FF, the Breeze - any of them. Works great.

Ah, HAH! Rested Gal you may have just given me the answer to my Breeze problems! I think I have the "old" Breeze. I'm pretty sure the box is Blue. Damned DME people! Sold me a 2 year old mask!

Speaking of vents ( and I'm going to post this part as a new topic) Cpapman has some great hints for dispersing vent air, using simple strips or old foam filters. Go the http://www.cpapman.com and click on Hints. They are for the Adam's and Breeze, but I think they would work on just about any kind of nasal mask with vents that are going the wrong way. I'm going to try it on my Swift.